71-year-old motorcyclist dies in fatal accident in Columbia County

Todd Coppernoll and Adam D. Hess

May 18, 2026, 11:57 AM CT

There was a fatal accident in Columbia County on Saturday – a small SUV collided with a motorcycle on County Highway J in Dekorra Township.

The driver of the motorcycle, a 71-year-old male from Sun Prairie, was pronounced deceased at the scene, the driver of the SUV, a 19-year-old from Dane, was not injured.

Preliminary investigation indicates the SUV was operarting left of the center line, near a curve, which caused a near head-on collision.

The identity of the deceased has not been released at this time, pending notification of next of kin.

Adam Hess

Adam Hess has been involved in radio broadcasting since 1990, with many of those years spent on the air at WRCO FM in Richland Center. Currently, Adam hosts the Weekend Wake-up and Prime Mover Saturdays on WRCO FM, jumps in and helps out with news duties, handles Social Media duties for WRCO and WRCE, and is the Director of Technology at a Southwest Wisconsin School District. Reach him at [email protected].